5 Best Cities for Veterans

Our Veterans made some hard sacrifices during their times in the military. That freedom we take so much for granted didn't come free. So we have duty to provide for the veterans who put their lives on the line day in and day to keep America great.

In honor of those who have fought for this country, we have compiled a list of the 5 best cities for veterans to live using four key metrics - percentage of jobs requiring military skill, access to VA healthcare facilities, number of unemployed vets and lowest number of vets living below the poverty line.

Each individual city's economic health was also factored into the rankings. Here are the five best cities for veterans, according to WalletHub:

Irvine, Calif. - Located in Southern California, Irvine is an affluent city in beach-lined Orange County. Out of 100 cities surveyed by WalletHub, Irvine ranked number one in veteran income growth and least number of vets living below the poverty line. The city also has the third lowest veteran unemployment rate.

Scottdale, Ariz. - Home to a brand new, state-of-the-art veteran's clinic, Scottsdale makes our list because of the number of veteran-owned business per capita is one of the highest in the nation.

Virginia Beach, Va. - With the fewest number of homeless veterans per capita and one of the biggest veteran populations in the country, Virginia Beach has proven to be a great place for veterans to call home.

Orlando, Fla. - Orland has seen some of the largest gains in veteran income than any other city surveyed, coming in second place for highest veteran income growth. That combined with world-class healthcare facilities plant the southern Florida city firmly on the list.

San Diego, Calif. - Thanks to major improvements in veteran incomes and drastic decline in veteran homeless rates, San Diego just barely makes the top five. Home to one of the largest military bases in the country, San Diego has a large veteran population and has eight veteran facilities within 75 miles of the city.

Of the 21.1 million military veterans residing in the U.S. as of October 2015, about 422,000 are unemployed, many because of disabilities that resulted from active duty. According to PBS, "Almost 60 percent of veterans who were retired from the military in 2012 due to a service-connected disability were under the age of 35."